Abstract 10400: The Characteristics and Outcomes of Heart Failure Associated With Methamphetamine Use

Abstract

Introduction: Heart failure (HF) remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States (US). Approximately 6.2 million adults in the United Status have HF and results in an estimated 13.4% of deaths annually. While the development of HF is linked to a variety of risk factors, the incidence and prevalence of methamphetamine-associated HF (HF-Meth) is rising secondary to the methamphetamine epidemic that is plaguing America. This study aims to compare the characteristics and outcomes of HF-Meth with other forms of HF. Methods: The discharge data of the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) from 2009 to 2014 were analyzed and records for HF hospitalization were identified using all ICD-9 codes for HF. These were further stratified based on meth use with the ICD-9 codes (304.40, 305.7, 969.72). We compared frequency of in-hospital mortality,incidence of cardiac arrhythmias, sudden cardiac death (SCD), rates of unemployment, and homelessness between patients with and without ICD-9 codes indicative of meth use. Percentage and chi-square-based P-values were reported. Results: Out of the 25,209,723 sampling weight-adjusted patients with ICD-9 codes indicative of HF, 58,359 (0.23%) had ICD codes indicative of Meth use. Relative to other patients with HF, HF-Meth experienced a lower in-hospital mortality rate (2.9 vs 5.0%, p <0.001), had a higher incidence of cardiac arrhythmias (7.1 vs 5.9%, p <0.001) and SCD (2.6 vs 1.8%, p <0.001), a higher rate of unemployment (0.49 vs 0.03%, p <0.001) and homelessness (6.1 vs 0.2%, p <0.001). In addition, HF-Meth was associated with a higher rate of alcohol abuse (21.1 vs 2.9%, p <0.001), cigarette smoking (73.8 vs 28.2%, p<0.001) and essential hypertension (43.8 vs 40.3%, p <0.001). Diabetes and hyperlipidemia were more prevalent in patients with other forms of HF (29.3 vs 43.44%, p <0.001 and 0.26 vs 0.45%, p <0.001 respectively). Conclusions: Patients with HF-Meth had a higher rate of cardiac arrhythmias, SCD, unemployment and homelessness. Additionally, they had a lower in-hospital mortality when compared with those not associated with meth use.